Believe What The Works Tell You About Jesus (John 10:22-41) Series

The past several weeks, we've taken a break from John by studying the "Sons of God," mostly focused on the OT. [I made this its own separate series on sermoncentral, and today's won't make as much sense without reading that first].

Today, I think we are the place where we can jump back to the Gospel of John, and have it make sense. That said, this is the kind of passage where I'm not going to get everything right. Use discernment. Think about it for yourself. And try to hold on to what you think is good and helpful.

Let's start today by reading verse 22-23:

(22) Then, the Feast of the Dedication happened in Jerusalem.

Winter, it was,

and he was walking-- Jesus-- in the temple in the portico of Solomon. [scene setting with 2 imperfect verbs]

Our story picks back up again today three months later, during the Feast of the Dedication (Hanukkah). We are still in Jerusalem-- in the place where Judeans have been rejecting him, and trying to kill him. Jesus is in the temple. And we know that this temple, is the one that Jesus symbolically destroyed. We know that Jesus is the greater temple. That you come to God through him, and that the worship God seeks is the one done in the Holy Spirit, and in the Truth about who Jesus is (John 4:24).

We also know it's winter. So we understand that this is a depressing time of the year. It's a time of barrenness, and darkness. It's the time of year we expect nothing good to happen. [And I think the only reason AJ tells us it's winter-- since we are supposed to know what time of year the Feast of Dedication takes place-- is to make us feel depressed.]

So Jesus "was walking" in the temple [imperfect verbing, raising our expectations that something else will follow], and this is what happens next:

(23) Then, they surrounded/encircled him-- the Judeans--,

and they were saying to him,

"How long, our soul/life, do you take away?

If you are the Christ/Messiah, tell us with boldness/plainness."

The Judeans here "encircle" Jesus. English Bibles will tell you that they "gathered around" Jesus. But when we read this here, I think we are supposed to understand that this is a threatening act. They approach Jesus, but they do so with the wrong verb. You shouldn't "encircle" Jesus, or "surround" him-- you're supposed to "come to" Jesus.

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We find the same verb repeatedly in Psalm 118:1-12 (Greek OT; Lexham English Septuagint):

10 *All the nations encircled me,

and by the name of the Lord I warded them off.

11 *Encircling they encircled me,

and by the name of the Lord I warded them off.

12 *They encircled me like bees a honeycomb,

and they were kindled like a fire in brambles,

and by the name of the Lord I warded them off.

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So that's what the Judeans do. Now, let's focus on what they say.

"How long, our soul/life, do you take away?

If you are the Christ/Messiah, tell us with boldness/plainness."

English Bibles act like Jesus' words are an idiomatic phrase, that mean something like, "How long will you keep us in suspense?" It is an idiom. In Modern Greek, it means something like "How long will you keep annoying us?" (H/T Gail O'Day, who quotes C.K. Barrett, who gives examples apparently-- that's one I don't own). But I think we are supposed to hear their words very literally, and forget that it's an idiom.

When we read what's actually there-- "How long, our soul/life, do you take away,"-- we are supposed to hear incredible irony. The Judeans act like Jesus is killing them. He is "taking away" their life. But we know this is the complete opposite of what Jesus does. Jesus is the one offering to "take away" their sin, as the lamb of God. He is the one who "gives" the abundant life. He doesn't take life. He gives life.

So what is it the Judeans want? They sound like Jesus' brothers. They think, if Jesus is the Messiah, that he should tell people boldly, openly, publicly, who he is. They think his approach doesn't make sense.

In verses 25-30, we read Jesus' response:

(25) He answered/responded to them-- Jesus--

"I told you, (A)

and you don't believe/give allegiance. (B)

The works that I do in the name of my Father -- these testify about me, (A)

(26) but you don't believe/give allegiance, (B)

because you aren't of/from my sheep.

(27) My sheep, my voice, they hear,

and I know them,

and they follow me,

(28) and I give to them life eternal,

and they will absolutely not perish/be lost ever,

and no one will seize them from my hand.

(29) My Father, who has given [them] to me, greater than all, He is,